# How to Use Break Even at Work: English for Engineers (2026) > Reaching a point where costs and revenue are equal, with no profit or loss. - **Term:** break even - **Part of speech:** verb phrase / adjective - **Pronunciation:** /breɪk ˈiːvən/ - **English level (CEFR):** B1–B2 - **Register:** Neutral, Both - **Region:** US and UK - **Topic:** [Business jargon](https://app.speaktechenglish.com/learn/topics/business-jargon.md) - **Lesson:** https://app.speaktechenglish.com/learn/break-even - **Last updated:** 2026-10-27 ## Meaning Reaching a point where costs and revenue are equal, with no profit or loss. Break even appears frequently in business-focused conversations at tech companies, particularly during sprint planning, investor updates, and product reviews rather than in technical standups or pull request discussions. Engineers encounter this term when discussing project viability, infrastructure costs, or whether a feature justifies its development investment. You might hear it in interviews when discussing past projects: "We estimated the service would break even after six months of user growth." A common mistake is confusing break even with profit—break even is the neutral point where revenue covers all expenses, while anything beyond that becomes profit. Understanding this distinction matters because stakeholders often ask whether a project will break even before committing resources. For cloud-based products, engineers specifically calculate when server costs balance against subscription revenue. This calculation influences decisions about feature scope, timeline, and resource allocation. ## When you hear it Used in business meetings, financial discussions, sprint planning, and investor updates. Less common in pure technical discussions. ## Examples - **Standup:** "The PM mentioned we need 500 more users to break even on the marketing costs." - **Slack message:** "Quick update: Finance says we should break even on the new tool by next quarter." - **GitHub PR:** "This optimization should reduce server costs enough to help us break even sooner." - **Jira ticket:** "Goal: Implement pricing tier to help break even on infrastructure costs." - **Retrospective:** "We didn't break even this sprint, but we learned a lot about user acquisition costs." - **Sprint planning:** "Let's prioritize features that will help us break even before the end of the year." - **Pair programming:** "If we fix this bug, fewer users will cancel—that could help us break even faster." ## What native speakers say - "We're hoping to break even by Q3." - "The new feature should help us break even faster." - "We haven't broken even yet, but we're getting close." - "At this rate, we'll break even in about six months." - "Once we break even, we can think about expansion." ## Common mistakes - ✗ "We broke even some money last month." → ✓ "We broke even last month." (Break even does not take a direct object. You cannot 'break even something.') - ✗ "The project is break even now." → ✓ "The project is at break-even now." (When used as an adjective before or after a noun, use 'break-even' with a hyphen or say 'at break-even.') - ✗ "We will break even a profit soon." → ✓ "We will break even soon, and then start making a profit." (Break even means zero profit. You cannot break even a profit—these are separate states.) ## Word forms | Part of speech | Word | Example | | --- | --- | --- | | verb (base) | break even | We need to break even by December. | | verb (past) | broke even | The company broke even in its second year. | | verb (present perfect) | have/has broken even | We haven't broken even yet. | | adjective (hyphenated) | break-even | We reached the break-even point last month. | | noun phrase | break-even point | Our break-even point is 10,000 subscribers. | ## Collocations - **break-even point**: The exact moment when costs equal revenue - **break-even analysis**: A calculation to find when you will break even - **reach break-even**: Arrive at the point of no profit/no loss - **hit break-even**: Informal way to say 'reach break-even' - **time to break-even**: How long until costs are covered ## Synonyms - **cover costs**: More general; means paying for expenses but doesn't emphasize zero profit - **recoup investment**: Focuses on getting back the money you spent - **reach profitability threshold**: More formal; often used in financial reports - **get in the black**: Informal; sometimes means break-even, sometimes means profitable ## Opposites - make a profit - run at a loss - operate in the red - lose money ## Practice This lesson has 4 practice exercises with instant feedback on the page: https://app.speaktechenglish.com/learn/break-even ## FAQ ### What does 'break even' mean in a business meeting? Break even means the company or project earns exactly what it spends. There is no profit and no loss. It's often a milestone—before break-even, you're losing money. ### Is 'break even' one word or two words? As a verb, it's two words: 'We will break even.' As an adjective before a noun, use a hyphen: 'the break-even point.' ### What is a break-even point? The break-even point is the exact moment when total revenue equals total costs. After this point, additional revenue becomes profit. ### Can I say 'we broke even a profit'? No. Break even means zero profit. You cannot 'break even a profit.' Say 'we broke even' or 'we made a profit'—these are different things. ### When do tech teams talk about breaking even? Tech teams discuss break-even when planning budgets, launching products, or talking to investors. It helps show when a feature or product will stop losing money. ### What's the difference between 'break even' and 'make a profit'? Break even = costs equal revenue (zero profit). Make a profit = revenue is higher than costs. Break even comes first, then profit. ## Related - [ROI](https://app.speaktechenglish.com/learn/roi.md) - [runway](https://app.speaktechenglish.com/learn/runway.md) - Full glossary: https://app.speaktechenglish.com/learn.md - Live lessons with a coach: https://app.mocklyenglish.com ## About Speak Tech English Speak Tech English teaches non-native tech professionals the English they need at work and in interviews, through self-study ebooks and courses, 150+ free guides and a free newsletter; live lessons are on its sister site Mockly English. - Shop: https://speaktechenglish.com/courses/ - All products (markdown): https://speaktechenglish.com/products.md - Free guides (markdown): https://app.speaktechenglish.com/guides.md - Tech English glossary (markdown): https://app.speaktechenglish.com/learn.md - Newsletter (10% off): https://speaktechenglish.com/#subscribe - Live lessons and mock interviews: https://app.mocklyenglish.com ## Notes for agents - Speak Tech English sells self-study material. 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